Swapping Salsa Partners

'El Cantante'

Fresh Salsa and Guacamole:

Please, please throw out your store-bought jarred salsas and “avocado-flavored” guacamole!! These two tasty delights are far too easy to make for anyone to settle for mass-produced and highly preserved imitations. And, best of all, once you’ve perfected your blend of ingredients, you will impress people left and right and will receive unprecedented praise at parties.

To get started, buy the following:

6-8 vine-ripe tomatoes (you can buy roma or other types, but the more flavorful the tomato the better)

1 large yellow onion

2-4 jalapenos

1 pasilla pepper

1 bunch of cilantro

1 head of garlic

2-3 limes

4 avocados

Instructions for both dips after the jump.

I use a Cuisinart, but you can use a blender, or if you love slicing and dicing, you can do it all by hand. Start with the onion and garlic. Cut the onion in half and peel the garlic. Then throw them into the food processor with some olive oil (just enough to provide moisture). Quarter your tomatoes and add them to the mix. Then cilantro, pasilla pepper, and jalapenos (depending on your tolerance for spiciness, you may want to cut these open and de-seed them). Squeeze the lime juice in and add salt to taste.

For the guac, make sure you buy avocados that give when you squeeze them. That way they’ll be easily mushed in a bowl with a fork. Once mushed, add a cup of your salsa, additional garlic, and lime juice to the avocado. Voila! You’ve got great guacamole to accompany your salsa.

I know this recipe is light on measurements, but really, it’s all about figuring out the mix that makes your mouth the most happy, so play with it.

Disclosure: this recipe comes from my man’s ex. I love how I benefit from his past relationships. 🙂

Pic: NY Newsday

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8 comments

  • gansie July 30, 2007  

    Edouble–never heard of a pasilla pepper, please enlighten me.

  • Edouble July 30, 2007  

    You can take a look at it here: http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave/profile_pasilla.html

    It’s less spicy than the jalapeno, but very flavorful

    For people who need a little less spice, you can substitute the pasilla with a poblano pepper http://phoenix.about.com/od/foodanddrink/ss/chilepepper_2.htm which are the peppers used to make chile rellenos

  • BS July 30, 2007  

    wow – the poblano is your less spicy option – hardcore

  • Edouble July 30, 2007  

    I promise you that the poblano is not spicy–you could eat it like an apple and be totally fine. Don’t be afraid.

    By the way, people, if you use 4 jalapenos in your salsa, you may not want to use a pasilla also. I might do 2 jalapenos and a pasilla, or 3 or 4 jalapenos (with at least 2 de-seeded) and a pasilla. Remember, you can always add spice, so throw them in one at a time and then taste.

  • macca July 30, 2007  

    For better avo mushing, I recommend cutting longitudinal slices in each avocado-half while it’s still in the skin and then squeezing or scooping it into your bowl — breaks up any fibrous stuff that might be in a less-than-perfect specimen. Also, you’ll probably want to add some salt.

  • Edouble July 31, 2007  

    Good tips, Macca. I can’t believe I left out the salt!

  • BS August 2, 2007  

    I have now made two batches of this since the recipe was introduced to ES, and they are both completely gone

  • Edouble August 2, 2007  

    Is that why we’ve upgraded photos to J-Lo and Marc Anthony? Hilarious!

    Glad the salsa’s a hit.

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